The Spiritual Counsels of Father John of Kronstadt

The nineteenth century in Russia was a time of considerable religious revival. Many thousands of ordinary people of all classes and callings flocked to elders or startsi for spiritual, and also temporal, advice. These startsi, who exercised a remarkable ministry, were generally monks, but one of the most famous – Father John of Kronstadt – was not a monk, but a married parish priest, rector of a large cathedral in the naval port of Kronstadt. The practical and down-to-earth teaching of this charismatic Russian pastor reveals him as a man of action as well as prayer. His spiritual counsel brought mental, physical and spiritual healing to thousands during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.